Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Hilltop (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Hilltop. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Hilltop is located in Black Hawk County.
To see how the shape of Iowa's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Black Hawk County: Benton, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Fayette, Grundy & Tama.
Below are the counties that are near Hilltop. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hilltop:
- Black Hawk County (The home county of Hilltop)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Elk Run Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Elk Run Heights is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,135 people
- Evansdale
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Raymond
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Raymond is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
- Waterloo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dewar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dewar is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewar
- Gilbertville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gilbertville is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 725 people
- Edwards ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Edwards is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Dunkerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dunkerton is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
- Cedar City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar City is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar City
- Cedar Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Eagle Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Eagle Center is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Center
- Hudson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Mount Auburn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Auburn is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Garrison
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Garrison is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
- Spencers Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Spencers Grove is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencers Grove
- Urbana
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Vinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Benton City ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Benton City is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton City
- Bremer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Klinger
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Klinger is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klinger
- Denver
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Readlyn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Knittel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Knittel is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knittel
- Waverly
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bremer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bremer is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremer
- Tripoli
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Seigel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Seigel is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigel
- Sumner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Horton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Frederika
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Frederika is located in Bremer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederika
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Plainfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Shady Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shady Grove is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Fairbank
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brandon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brandon is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 320 people
- Independence
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hazleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rowley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hamerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hamerville is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamerville
- Doris
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Doris is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doris
- Stanley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stanley is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Quasqueton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Winthrop
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Winthrop is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop
- Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
- Aurora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Aurora is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- New Hartford
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shell Rock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sinclair
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sinclair is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair
- Coster
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Coster is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coster
- Parkersburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Clarksville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Butler Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Butler Center is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler Center
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Oran
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Oran is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oran
- Oelwein
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Westgate
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Westgate is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westgate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Maynard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Fredsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Fredsville is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredsville
- Dike
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Reinbeck
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Morrison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stout
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Stout is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
- Fern
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Fern is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
- Grundy Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Holland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Buck Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Buck Grove is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
- Linn County
- Walker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Walker is located in Linn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Tama County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Dinsdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dinsdale is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dinsdale
- Dysart
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Buckingham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Buckingham is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
- Traer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Clutier
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Gladbrook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hilltop, see our County-by-County Page for Hilltop.
Cemeteries Near Hilltop ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hilltop.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Hilltop - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hilltop covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Muslim Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sons of Jacob Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Turner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Poyner Twp. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Washburn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Elmwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Waterloo.
- The Elmwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Waterloo Elmwood Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94674 <2>
- Continue List (252 more) ...
- Waterloo Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Waterloo Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
While we didn't find Hilltop in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hilltop.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hilltop, with the one closest to Hilltop listed first.
- Raymond
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Raymond is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
- Waterloo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Washburn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Gilbertville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gilbertville is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 725 people
- Dewar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dewar is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewar
- Edwards ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Edwards is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Canfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Canfield is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Dunkerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dunkerton is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
- Cedar Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hudson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Eagle Center is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Center
- Jubilee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jubilee is located in Black Hawk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jubilee
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Jesup
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- La Porte City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Shady Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shady Grove is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hilltop. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hilltop.
Newspapers Published in Hilltop ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 154 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hilltop.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hilltop, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hilltop.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Hilltop:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Black Hawk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Bremer County
- Buchanan County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Grundy County
- Linn County
- Tama County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Hilltop, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hilltop) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |